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Sheet 2.

3 Sheets (No Model.)

T. R. A. WEBER.

RAILROAD SIGNAL APPARATUS.

PatentedApnfi, 1887.-

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(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 3. H T. R. A. WEBER.

RAILROAD SIGNAL APPARATUS.

No. 360,496. Patented Apr. 5, 1887.

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N. PETERS, Pnowum n hen wasm wn, I16.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THEODOR R. A. YVEBER, OF N ElV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, CORNELIUSTIERS, AND ALEXANDER H. TIERS, OF NEWV YORK, AND JOHN H. PEN- DLETON, OFBROOKLYN, NE\V YORK.

RAILROAD-SIGNAL APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 360,496, dated April 5,1887.

Application filed February 23, 1886. Serial No. 192,831.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THEoDoR It. A. WEBER, of the city and State of NewYork, have invented an Improvement in Railway-Signals, of

which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to present a series of signals to theengineer 01' a passing train by which he may know that the signals arebeing properly operated by his own train,

that he may have a danger-signal always behind his own train, and thatthis danger-signal may be automatically removed when the nextdanger-signal is brought into View behind his train.

Presuming that a white light indicates a clear track for the train toproceed, ared light danger, and a green light safety, and at the sametime indicates that the apparatus is in working order, the followingsignals will be given: As thet-rain approaches signaling-point A, thelights at A B O are all white, on passing A a red signal is displayed,and a green signal brought into view at B. On passing B the green signalis changed to red, and a green signal brought into sight at C, the redsignal at A continuing. On passing Othe green signal is changed to red,a green signal brought into view at the next station ahead,shou1d therebe one, and the red signal at station A withdrawn to show white, and soon in succession. These signals may be placed all along the tracksay ata quarter of a mile apart-and they will operate regularly in thesuccession named; or, ifonly three or four are used in succession nearstations, they will be operated in the order named, and the lastdanger-signal will be withdrawn when the train has passed beyond thesame and over an actuating mechanism without a signal-post, so that all0 the danger-signals are removed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan View below the line 00 m, Fig. 2,indicating the arrangements of the devices. Fig. 2 is a side eleva tionof the same,partially in section, at y y. 5 Fig. 3 is a section of thesignal-box transversely to the track. Fig. 4: is a section of said boxlongitudinally of the track. Fig. 5 is a sectional plan View of thesignal-box. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of the valve- (No model.)

cylinder; and Fig. 7 is a perspective view 53 illustrating the shaftsand arms for moving the air-valve, &c. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 illustrate theconnections at the station B.

The track E is of ordinary character, and the stations A B G D are atsuitable distances apart. The pipe 1 extends either along the wholetrack, or else as far as the signaling system extends. The same isconnected to an exhausting apparatus actuated by power, so that a vacuumis produced in said pipe 1, and the 6 signals are actuated byatmospheric pressure at one side of a diaphragm septum or pistonwhenever the vacuum is allowed to act upon the other side. My system ofsuccessive signals before named may be brought into action 6:; by thevacuum through the agency of different mechanism from that nextdescribed; but I prefer such mechanism as simple and not lia ble toderangement.

Signal-bom.-The post 10 supports a box, 11, which is preferablyelliptical, with two plain glasses, 12, at the side and in line witheach other, and a lamp, 13, should be providedfor each box to illuminatethe signal toward the approaching trains. lVithin the box are twosignals-the red one, 14, and the green one, 15. These signals aretransparent, preferably of glass, and set in frames upon the ends oflevers 16 and 17, and these swing upon the pivots 18 by means ofdiaphragms attached at their edges to the hemispherical shells 19 2O 2122. The diaphragms face each other and are connected in pairs by thebars 23 24, and these are hinged to the lovers 16 and 17, respectively.

There are pipes to the respective shells. "When the vacuum acts throughthe pipe 31 in shell 19, the red signal 14 is brought into sight. WVhenit acts in 20 through pipe 32, the red signal 14 is thrown back out ofsight. 0 When the vacuum acts in 21. through pipe 83, the green signal15 is brought into sight, and when it acts in 22 through pipe 35 thegreen signal is thrown back out of sight.

The apparatus at station B is shown in Figs. 9 5 3, 4, and 5. Theapparatus at station A is similar, except that there is no green signalor parts to operate the same, because, said station A being the firstone on the line, the green signal could not be operated before the trainreaches the station, as is the case at station B. The cock 40 is turnedby a handle, 41, connected to an arm, 43, upon the hub of the lever 16.WVhen in one position, the plug opens a passage between the pipes 33 and31. This occurs when the red signal 14 is displayed, and when the redsignal is removed the plug is turned the other way to close the pipe 31,and admits air into the pipe 33 by an opening in the barrel of the cook.The pipe 31 is a branch from the pipe 31 to the shell 19, and the pipe33 from the shell 21 (at B) leads to the cook 40 at station A, (enteringsuch cock in the position of the pipe 33, Fig. 3,) hence when the redsignal at station A is brought into View by the vacuum in 31 and 19 atthat station A the cook 40 is turned and opens a passage for the vacuumto extend in its action to the next station, B by drawing the air out ofthe pipe 33, leading to the shell 21 at station B, and the vacuum beingproduced therein draws on the rod 24 and displays the green signal atsuch station B, and when the red signal 14 at station A is swung back,as hereinafter described, the cock 40 at that station again closes pipe31 to vacuum and admits air into pipe 33. The atmospheric pressure,however, has been admitted into the pipe 31, shell 19, pipe 31, pipe 33,at station A, by the gradual return of the piston-valve, hereinafterdescribed, to the normal position, so as to allow the air to pass to-theshell 21 at station B by the pipe 33; hence a vacuum can thereafter actin the shell 22 at station B to throw the green signal out of sight, ashereinafter described. he admission of the air at the valve 40 does notchange the signals, but simply allows the pressures to be balanced.

The pipe 31, that passes to the shell 19, has a branch, 35, to the shell22, so that when the vacuum is allowed to act in 19 to display the redsignal 14 it simultaneously acts in 22 to throw the green signal of thesame box back out of sight, and the green signal will remain in thisposition by its weight and leverage even after the atmosphere has beenadmitted into 31 and 35 and thepressures are equalized at opposite sidesof the respective diaphragms, and when the vacuum is allowed to act inthe pipe 32 and shell to throw the red signal 14 out of sight it doesnot disturb the green signal in so doing.

The means for allowing the vacuum to act in the respective pipes may beof any desired character; but I prefer to use the cylinder 50,havingaring-seat,51, against which the pistonvalve 52 is drawn by thevacuum action in the pipe 1. This piston 52 has a rod, 53, by which itis moved, and passes the ring of ports to.

the annular passage 54, so that the vacuum acts therein and in the pipesleading therefrom.

I prefer to use an inclined arm, 55, upon a shaft, 56, with an arm, 57,to the piston-rod 53, and this arm 55 is adjacent to the trackrail, sothat the wheels run over the same and move thepiston-valvc 52 andbringthe vacuum into action. There is an arm, 60, on the shaft 56, andan adjustable weight that partially counterpoises the atmosphericpressure on the piston-valve, so that thesame will close gradually afterthe train has passed.

The pipe 31 is connected at one end to the passage-way 54 around thecylinder50, so that when the valve 52 is drawn from its seat 51 thevacuum in pipe 1 extends by 54 into pipe 31 and parts connected with it,and when the valve 52 is on its seat 51 the passage 54 and pipe 31 areopen to the atmosphere. (See Fig. 6.) By bearing in mind the statementsbefore made, it will now be understood that when the train passesstation A it acts on the valve 52, admitting thevacuumto act through thepipe 31 to display the red signal at A, and the movement of the rod 23and red sig nal and arms 43 41 turns the cock, allowing the vacuumaction in the pipe 31 31 at sta tion A to extend by 33 to the shell 21at sta tion B, and display the green signal. Then the train reaches Band moves the valve 52 at that station, the vacuum acts in 19 to displaythe red signal, and, acting simultaneously through pipe and shell 22,throws back the green signal, and the cock at station B opens thecommunication between 31 and 33, leading to 21 at station 0, throwingthe green signal into view and still allowing the red signal at A toremain in View. lVhen the train reaches station 0, the vacuum is allowedto act in the pipes 31 and 35 to throw the red signal into view and movethe green-signal back at that station 0, and at the same time towithdraw the red signal at station A, be cause the extension 32 of thepipe 31 goes from the station 0 to the station A, and connects with thepipe leading to the shell 20 at said station A.

If the system is extended along the entire track,all the signal-boxeswill be alike, and all will have the connections shown as at station B.If the system commences with station A, there will be no green signalthere, and if the system terminates at station 0, then there will be anair-valve at station I), but no signalpost, and the vacuum-pipe,extending back from this valve, will be connected to both sta tions Band 0 to simultaneously withdraw the red signal by acting through pipe32 in the shells 20.

In addition to the visual signals aforesaid, I make use of a mechanicalsignal to the train. YVith this object in view I make the shaft 56tubular, and pass through the same the shaft 70, on one end of which isthe arm .71, that is adapted, when elevated, to act upon a lever or anydevice on the train to ring the hell or blow the whistle. At the otherend of the shaft is an arm, 73, that is acted upon by a finger upon thearm 57 and pushed back and latched by the lever 74, the spring throwingthe same up. The buffer 76 limits the movement and prevents concussionby the sudden movements of the parts.

There is an elastic diaphragm in the vessel 78, and a loop from the sameto the end of the lever 74, and the pipe 79 from this vessel 78 connectswith the pipe 32, so that the arm 71 remains in an elevated position toact upon the alarm if the train runs past the station where the redsignal is displayed; but when the vacuum acts to throw back the redsignal, it also draws down the diaphragm, unlatches the lever 73, andallows the arm 71 to drop out of the way.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination,with the signal and the leverfor moving the same, of two flexible diaphragms directly connectedtogether and to the lever, and shells facing each other, and to whichthe edges of the respective diaphragms are connected, and vacuum-pipesleading to the respective shells, so that the signal is moved by drawingthe diaphragm into the shell by the vacuum action, substantially as setforth.

2. The combination, in a signal-box, of two signals of different colors,levers for moving the same, diaphragms and shells in pairs, connectedtogether and to the levers of the sig nals, and Vacuum-pipes foractuating the sig nals, substantially as set forth.

3. In a system of railway-signals, the signal-boxes at suitabledistances apart and the signals in the same, and the vacuum andconnecting pipes arranged substantially as specified, and a valve actedupon by the passing train, and a second valve or cock acted upon by thesignal, whereby a danger-signal is dis played at the station that isbeing passed, another signal is displayed at the next station ahead ofthe train, and the danger-signal at a station in the rear is withdrawn,substantially as set forth.

4. The combination,with the railway-signal and its actuating diaphragms,shells, and connecting-pipes, of a piston-valve, a lever acted upon bythe train to move the same, a cylinder containing the valve, having aseat for such valve, a pipe connecting to the main exhaust or vacuumpipe and ports, and a passage-way around the cylinder, and a pipeleading to the signal-box, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with the visual signals and the box containing thesame, of the dia phragms and shells for giving motion to the signals,the vacuum -pipes and valve acted upon by the passing train, a lever-armto act upon a passing train and give an audible signal, a latch toretain such lever-arm in an elevated position, and a diaphragm actedupon by the vacuum to unlatch the lever'arm simultaneously with thewithdrawal of the visual 1, signal, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with a range of signalboxes and the signals inthesame, of a vacuumpipe extending along the track to each signalstationincluded in the system, a valve actuated by the passing train to allowthe signal to be changed by the vacuum action, and a valve connectedwith the vacuum-pipes for admitting or excluding air, and a connectionfrom the same to one of the signals, whereby atmosphere is admittedafter the signal has been turned by the vacuum 'action, substantially asset forth.

7. The combination, with a range of signalboxes and the signals in thesame, of a vacuunr pipe extending along the track to each signalstationincluded in the system, a valve actuated by the passing train to allowthe signal to be changed by the vacuum action, and a cock moved by thesignal, and a pipe extending to the next station ahead, whereby thevacuum is caused, also, to move another signal ahead of the movingtrain, substantially as set forth.

Signed by me this 18th day of February, A. D. 1886.

THEODOR R. A. XVEBER.

XVitnesscs:

G120. T. PINOKNEY, WILLIAM G. Mom.

